Death Dates & Goggles
by eeveepkmnfan
Summary: Beyond Birthday is used to being alone. So what happens when Matt, the new kid, catches his eye? Will the two become friends? And if they do, can they survive staying together through everything that will try to tear them apart? And what if feelings start to blossom? From friends to...what exactly? Things will only start to complicate more as the school year continues.
1. Arrogant Boy

"Haven't you heard? A new kid is coming soon."

"Really? Boy or girl?"

"I hear he's coming straight from another orphanage."

"When exactly is he coming?"

I flicked my scarlet eyes over the crowd of kids in the lounge room, watching for a moment as the gossip continued. My disinterest and annoyance showed on my face as I made my way toward them. _'Can't anyone in this godforsaken orphanage shut up for once?'_ Well, I didn't really care what they talked about, I just hated them. I hated everyone in the orphanage, really. And it appeared that everybody kindly decided to reciprocate my ever so lovely feelings.

Immediately, all talk ceased as looks of fear and repulsion were shot at me. "What is it, freak?" One girl sneered, her nose high in the air, her face in a nasty snarl.

But I could clearly see the fear in her crystal blue orbs. I knew that she was afraid of me. Everyone was. They all tried to mask it with a false sense of bravado, but deep down, I knew they were terrified of the big, bad red eyed monster that was me.

I donned my finest and sickest smirk, reveling in the looks I got. "Oh, nothing." I leaned my face in close to the girl's, my breath ghosting over her pale white skin. "I would just appreciate it ever so much if you and your little friends here were a tad bit quieter." My red eyes stared down at her, a dangerous spark in them. I whispered ever so softly, drawing each word out slowly. "Or would you rather I showed you a good way to keep yourself quiet?"

The girl was shaking now, her blue eyes wide in fright. The others that surrounded her were all frozen in place, scared to move. _'The poor innocent rabbits are all frightened to death over the sick, vile wolf. Fearing he might just make a move...and gobble them up with his sharp, sharp fangs. Tear them with his sadistic little claws, and make them suffer with every piercing look his demonic, glowing eyes send them. What a pity that would be. The pathetic things would surely be fated to die, in the suffocating hold of the horrible wolf...'_

"Well?" A sickeningly sweet smile formed on my thin lips, daring them all to go against me, although I can't say that I would really mind. I had plenty of fun games to play, yes indeed.

"W-we'll be quiet!" Peeped a brave little boy sitting off to the side of the obnoxious girl.

Smile still in place, I leaned back, slight disappointment in my eyes. "Good." Successful in my mission of planting the seed of fear into my victims, I stepped away and turned, making my way toward my own personal quarters.

I surveyed my empty and bare room with distaste. Aside from a bookshelf filled with all my favorite books, a small desk that housed a computer, and a bed, my room was quite sparse. _'I really need to do something about that. Maybe I'll buy some decorations the next time I sneak out into town.' _I snickered at the thought of having not been caught once, even though I had snuck out numerous times. I prided myself at the fact that I could go wherever I wanted and nobody would ever figure it out. Oh, sure, there had been a few close calls late at night with Roger, but I had expertly maneuvered myself safely out of those situations. I'm sure the old geezer was suspicious of me, but it wasn't like he had any real proof anyway.

I gazed at my desk that was full of scattered papers, most likely essays or worksheets I had yet to finish. _'I could always finish my school work...Nah!' _I wasn't worried about failing a few papers or two. I could easily pull myself back up to my signature number two ranking if I wanted. It wasn't like I had to try. I didn't try to be number one (I didn't even want to, in fact) and I didn't try to lag behind everyone. If I actually exceeded the effort it took, I probably would be number one, but then again the rankings had never really mattered to me.

I grinned and flopped down onto my slim twin sized bed. Putting my arms behind my head, I relaxed into my sheets that smelled vaguely of strawberries. I started at my ceiling in boredom, having nothing else to do at the moment. My blood red orbs slowly closed. The only time when I was in peace was when I was in my room. It was basically my sanctuary. I free from all of the stares, the looks people gave me, as if I was the plague. Nothing in the world was as soothing as being alone in my room, away and isolated from everything. I could do whatever I wanted in here without getting scolded or punished, or sneered at.

This was the only place I was free from all the terror filled faces, the nasty teachers, the stupid curriculum, the snobby attitudes, the death dates, L, and the whole red tinted world.

My chest heaving slow, steady breaths, I slowly began to doze off. My dreams were filled with strawberry jam, sugar cubes, crows, neon colors, and butterflies. I loved sleeping because, like my room, it served as a temporary escape from reality. No matter how strange they were, I always appreciated that my dreams were there. In my dreams, I wasn't a socially awkward freak in a seriously messed up orphanage. I was just another average, perfectly normal teenager. It was one aspect I couldn't help but wish was true, no matter how impossible I knew it to be.

...

I woke from my light nap an hour later. The glowing green numbers on my digital clock informed me it was 5:43 P.M., which meant that dinner would be out soon. I sighed as I knew that I would have to go this time. I had been skipping as of late, and if I didn't stop, Roger had threatened to cut my jam supply. I really didn't want to go, as it meant that I would be sitting near all the other inhabitants of this idiotic hell hole. But it seemed I had to. After all, I couldn't very well go without my delicious jam.

After showering and brushing my teeth, it was unfortunately time to head on down to dinner. I took my sweet time walking to the dreaded cafeteria, taking extra care to be slightly late. Hopefully by the time I got there, everyone would already be finished and the cafeteria would be empty.

Apparently I was terribly too optimistic and hadn't been as late as I would have liked. When I pushed through the heavy double doors, my hopes were instantly crushed as I heard the chatter of the orphanage children.

_'Maybe if I'm not too obvious and just quickly get my food and eat it, they won't notice me.'_

I got a serving tray and a plastic plate and filled it with a few various types of food. Bread, corn, a slice of pizza, and a cup of strawberry yogurt, along with a glass of chocolate milk. I also made sure to grab a few handfuls of the strawberry jam packets that were conveniently placed alongside the rolls.

_'Please, god, let there be somewhere I can sit.'_

My scarlet orbs scanned the cafeteria, searching desperately for at lest one empty table nearby. I let out a sigh of relief as I found one near the back of the room.

My combat boot clad feet going toward the lone table, I almost missed the long, skinny leg sticking out from one of the tables full of people.

I almost tripped over it but managed to avoid it at the last minute. _'Well, let's just see who wants to die today.'_ My head snapped around to the table, my eyes tracing the leg to a boy that was in my math class. He had an arrogant smirk on his face, his eyes daring me to do something. Well, do something I would.

Placing my tray on a nearby table, my glare silencing any protests and stopping anybody from doing anything to it, I grinned and turned around, stalking up to Arrogant Boy's table. He and his friends were quick to stop their laughing, instead choosing to focus their incredibly short attention spans on me.

One of Arrogant Boy's followers piped up cockily. "What do you want, you freak?"

The other boys all scowled and scoffed at me, eying me up and down like I was some piece of decomposed meat.

Instead of wasting my energy on forming a reply, I trained my stare on Arrogant Boy. He smirked at me. "Something you wanna say, freak?"

_'You'd think they come up with more interesting insults. Honestly, I'm getting tired of the same old thing all the time.'_

I simply smiled, extending my arm to punch him. The force of it was so hard it sent pitiful little Arrogant Boy crashing to the tiled floor. A few drops of blood splattered on my black, long sleeved t-shirt.

_'Oh, what a bother. Now I'll have to wash this shirt again.' _

His friends all jumped up, their expressions so shocked the situation was almost comical. One or two bent down to help their fallen comrade to his feet, but he just threw them off and growled like a gorilla. His dull brown eyes narrowed into a glare. "I'll tell Roger what you did."

I almost felt like laughing. Almost.

Instead, I made the wise choice of refraining from the action, no matter how utterly hilarious and plain stupid I found Arrogant Boy to be.

I smirked back at the other boy, my red orbs lighting up and glimmering. "Oh, go ahead. In fact, I dare you."

For a second he looked confused. Until I went over and grabbed hold of his arm. I looked him straight in his ugly brown eyes, confidently continuing, "But I'm afraid I'll have to break your arm if you do."

The boy froze, panic finally starting to set in. In my peripheral vision, I couldn't help but to notice a bead of sweat roll down his forehead.

"You're kidding...right? Right?" He tried to look to his pathetic friends for help, only to realize he was on his own when no one came forward to help him. They all just silently stared down at the cafeteria floor.

"I think it'd be wise to not tell Roger anything and keep your arm unscathed, hm?" I smirked, drinking in the terrified look on his features. The wide, panicked eyes, the trembling lip, the goosebumps all over his arms, his grit teeth, the slight change in the way he breathed.

The foolish boy rapidly nodded, practically begging for his arm to be released. I let go and Arrogant Boy took in a big gulp of air, scurrying over to his so called friends.

"Oh! And if Roger does perchance happen to find out...Well, consider that arm of yours gone. It'd do you some good to remember that."

The boy tensed up, sputtering out his reply. "I-I got it!"

I smiled, crossing my arms over my chest. Before I went back to get my tray and head back to my table, I jokingly waved goodbye to them all.

Back at my table, I hummed happily and took a bite of my now cold pizza. _'Too bad I couldn't have really broken his arm. But there are far too many witnesses in here, and I know that at least one would tell the old geezer if I actually did.'_

Looking up, I gazed around at everyone who was nervously trying to pretend nothing happened and resume their conversation. I chuckled quietly to myself, enjoying the effect I had on the cafeteria.

_'Well, so much for not being noticed.' _I rolled my eyes as I took a drink from my glass of milk.

_'But at least now everyone knows not to mess with me. They'll probably all be too scared of me to tell Roger, too, so that's good.'_

I continued to eat my meal, only pausing to take short drinks from my glass. Occasionally, my ruby red eyes would drift to the large double doors and then I would try to eat faster. I couldn't wait to head back to my room. My haven.

...

Upon escaping the horrid cafeteria and returning to my bedroom, I sat down at my desk. A frown marred my face.

_'Since I have absolutely nothing to do, I might as well do something productive...'_

I picked up a mechanical pencil and started to work on all the papers sitting before me. I lazily wrote down answers I already knew, my textbook never once having to be used.

To my surprise, it only took about two hours to finish everything. There had been quite a lot of papers, so I hadn't expected to be done so soon, even if I knew all the answers.

I looked to my clock and groaned when I saw that it was only eight. Since I wasn't feeling too particularly social at the moment, and I wanted to waste some time before I went to bed, I opted to read _Akazukin Chacha_.

I managed to get through four volumes before it was time to go to sleep.

When I finally got under my comforter and sheets, I was more than ready to just close my weary eyes and dream the impossible, imaginary things that only came to me in sleep. Regardless of the bleak tomorrow or the tedious next day, I wanted to become lost in my very own sleep induced fantasy.

...

A/N: So, I hope this wasn't horrible and that BB wasn't too OOC. Personally, I like him this way, but meh. And since I love BB and there aren't nearly enough fanfictions with him in them, I figured I'd write one of my own. I mean, why not? ^-^ Please let me know how I did, I appreciate any feedback! :D


	2. Assorted Breakfast Foods

I woke to the shrill and ear splitting call of my digital clock. I groggily fumbled around until I managed to grab hold of the cursed thing and hurl it at my beige wall. As I had hoped, the atrocious noise soon died down.

_'Well, I guess I'll have to get a new clock now. Maybe I'll sneak into town tonight. I haven't been in a while.'_ I surveyed the wreckage of my poor defenseless time teller and, with an air of boredom, left to go shower.

Since I very well couldn't tell the time now, I figured I would go to class early. Before I left the comforts of my safe haven behind, I made sure to take with me the plethora of papers atop my metal desk.

_'Off to live another day full of ignorant snobs and assorted breakfast foods. Joy.'_ I tucked my slender hands into the pockets of my black pants.

Dreading what today would bring, I made my way to my first period math class. _'Oh, goodie, obnoxious little Arrogant Boy will be in there with me. I shall take this fine opportunity to remind him why no one messes with me.'_ I smirked, my white teeth flashing. Maybe today wouldn't be as horrifically awful as I had originally thought.

En route to my destination, I passed the abominable cafeteria. I caught a glimpse of students talking and eating what appeared to be some kind of banana muffin. I hurriedly went past the large double doors, thanking all that was good that breakfast wasn't mandatory.

_'I swear, that cafeteria is my unlucky number. Although if the number had to be put down onto paper, I imagine it'd look very curvy, with a dot or two smashed in somewhere, and maybe a circle around one of the sides. With an arrow and a plus sign, of course.' _Occasionally I think about the thoughts whirling around in my mind, and doubt whether or not I should be questioning what little sanity this place has left me with. This was such a time.

...

I wasn't surprised when I discovered the classroom to be empty. I knew that I would get here pretty early. I usually do, on account of skipping breakfast and not wasting my time in the bathroom or talking.

But of course my peace couldn't last, and the classroom soon filled up. I spied wimpy little Arrogant Boy and his friends sitting way in the back of the room, shooting girls what I assume they thought were "flirty" winks. Honestly, they looked like they had a serious twitch going on, and coupled with their disgusting grins, I seriously doubted any girl was going to go their way for a good long while.

_'Give or take a few millennia.'_ I smirked to myself, laughing at them in my mind. What's even more humorous is when they caught my eye, they looked like the devil had appeared before them. I had really gotten a hoot out of that, if the amusement in my scarlet orbs was anything to go by.

_'Then again, they probably do think that I'm the devil.' _

I smiled and cheerily waved at them. It took all I had to not double over laughing when they scooted as far back in their chairs as they could and eyed the door as if to say, "Fight or flight?"

_'Ah, yes. The one good thing about this detestable institution. It's so much fun to terrorize its occupants.' _

The rest of the class period I spent wisely, cleverly scheming and putting my plans to use on miserable Arrogant Boy and his followers. How amusing they were, the horrified looks their features morphed into, some asking to be excused from the room on account of having to use the restroom (probably hiding out somewhere, just anxiously waiting for second period to start), the panicked way they looked to the ceiling, as if praying some higher power would help them somehow. It was probably one of the funnest math classes I had ever had.

The other students noticed what was going on between us, of course, but they didn't dare to voice their findings to the teacher. The lot of them had all seen the wonderful little stunt I pulled yesterday in the abhorrent cafeteria. The whole school knew not to mess with me. And if they did, well...I can't say that I would be as forgiving as I had been yesterday.

Arrogant Boy and his friends all scrambled for the door when the bell sounded, looking as if they were about to wet themselves. Oh, how I love to torture people.

...

Unfortunately, I didn't have Arrogant Boy or any of his friends in the rest of my classes, so I was left to commit suicide via boredom multiple times until the end of the day. On the bright side, I got rid of all the tedious paperwork I had brought with me. Surprisingly, none of it was overdue.

Upon returning to my room, I couldn't help but to notice the pitiful sight that was my broken clock. _'I should really clean that up...'_ Although I just kept staring at it, until finally I got bored once again.

I ran my hand through my spiky onyx hair, trying to think of something to do. _'It's probably around three or four. Which means that I can't go into town yet.' _Frowning, I blew out a breath of air. It lifted a few stray strands of my hair.

My eyes settled on my bookshelf, but I looked away when I realized that I wasn't in the mood to read. _'I guess I could go steal some jam from the kitchen.'_ At the thought of my most favorite food, my eyes lit up and I grinned. I could almost taste the sweet, rich substance dancing on my tongue.

...

My eyes scanned the hallway up and down, making sure there was no one in sight. I quickly dashed and flung open the kitchen door, slamming them closed almost as soon as I was in. My lips widened into a broad grin as I looked to the cabinet where the condiments and spices were kept. There was a pad lock on it, due to my extreme cravings of the red, sticky substance.

But they were fools to think that one measly pad lock would keep me out. Oh, no. I always came prepared.

I reached into my pants pocket and procured a bobby pin. Sticking it into the lock, I twisted and turned my tool, until finally I heard a soft click.

Snapping the useless lock off, I poked my head inside the cabinet. My ruby red orbs roamed over all the shelves until I finally came across a heavenly sight. My strawberry jam, on the second to last shelf. There were about five jars full of my addiction, and I desperately wanted to take them all but knew that Roger would figure it out and pinpoint me as the culprit. Instead, I painstakingly took only two jars. It killed me to leave the other three, but I knew I had to.

I painfully stepped away from the shelf, my arms cradling my precious jars of jam. _'Curse you, Roger.'_

After securing the lock back in place and reclaiming my bobby pin, I made my getaway, overjoyed to have jam once again. _'This orphanage has horrible security. But at least it means I can get to my beloved jam.'_ I gazed down at my jam in fondness, smiling.

Having made my way back to my room, I layed on my bed and started devouring the spoils of my mission. _'I will never get tired of you, oh sweet jam.'_ I licked my pale lips, releasing a happy sigh into the air.

After eating my scrumptious strawberry jam (it was a miracle I didn't get any on my bed), I was put into an extremely good mood.

I decided, early or not, I would head into town. But not without gazing longingly at my empty jars. _'I need to get some jam when I get to town.'_

...

After some difficulty concerning the ridiculously high fence surrounding the whole property, I had somehow managed to sneak into town. Someday I will destroy that fence. Mark my words, the fence's death will be agonizingly painful.

The town was as busy now as it was at night, which made me emit a sigh. I never liked people all that much, especially crowds. That one therapist I had had way back when called me 'antisocial'. Not that I was doubting it, I just really hated that therapist. Which is precisely why that one ended up in a tragic accident and I don't have any others at the present time.

I ran my hands through my spiky black hair, walking down First Street. Seriously, what a stupid name for a street. Is there a Second Street somewhere in the world? Maybe even a Third Street? It really makes me wonder who came up with the name. What had possessed them when they were naming this street? If it had been up to me, I would have named it Holy Up Street. See what a much better name that is? It adds pizazz.

I was stuck in my inner world, debating whether I should also get some raspberry jam while I was here (I liked to eat some on occasion.), when I heard the infamous sirens that signaled the presence of police. I looked at a nearby building and saw a steady stream of smoke rising out of the broken windows.

The police (why not call firefighters?) were dashing into the smoke, apparently trying to do _something._ Which they were failing miserably at, I might as well say. _'These guys are just an embarrassment. If all cops were like this, then it would make all my trips to town remarkably easy.' _

Having seen enough of the imbecile police, I made my way to walk past the smoky building, heading to the jam store. Yes, that's right, there is a _**jam store**_. It is the only shop that I am willing to use money on. Well, if I had any. Instead, I just have to make due with stealing. But it's not like it's hard or anything, in fact, looting the oh holy jam store is incredibly easy. An elderly couple ran the shop (_bless their souls_), and they frequently went to sleep at the counter. They never notice when I take a few jars either, which makes me wonder if they even do inventory at all. Talk about horrible shop running skills.

But before I arrived at the blessed store, something caught my eye. It was a person, running in the direction I was going. Whoever it was looked like they were in a great hurry, and even a little panicked. For a split second, as he was almost out of my view, his eyes caught mine. Well, he was wearing orange goggles, so it was a little hard to see past them. But I managed. Anyway, his eyes were a deep green color, and his hair was red. That was all I got see before he was out of my line of sight.

_'I wonder who he was?Maybe he was the who destroyed that building that I saw earlier. It wouldn't be such a crazy idea, considering how fast he was running, and how he looked to be a little panicked. Hmm...' _For some reason, that redhead gave me a bad feeling. I didn't like it at all, so I pushed all thoughts of him and the building out of my head, instead filling my mind with thoughts of jam and how simple it would be to do yet another heist.

...

Robbing the store had been yawn inducingly boring, and I had been fast about it, so I had decided to get some chocolate chocolate chip ice cream on my way back to the orphanage.

Licking my delicious frozen treat, and carrying my bag of stolen jam (don't ask where I got the bag), I looked over at the park I was passing. It was empty, save for a couple birds pecking at the ground. _'Oh, what the heck? Why not?' _I walked into the small little park and sat on a brown wooden bench.

It was rare times like these that I really enjoyed. It was just me and no one else. It felt like I was the only person on the planet, the thought of which made me want to jump up on a swing and shout for joy. It would be nice if it ever really happened, although...I can't say that I wouldn't miss the elderly couple down the street that ran the jam store. In fact, I would kind of miss all the people at the orphanage. But only because I like to torture them, of course. Besides, I'm pretty sure a planet with just me would get boring pretty quickly. There would be no fun in robbing stores or sneaking into town, or breaking Roger's secret insect collection. Worst of all, there would be no one to tease or scare. I wouldn't be able to break Arrogant Boy's arm if he weren't here. And if it were only me, pretty soon I would run out of jam and have to start making my own. I'm sure any jam made by me would taste like crap.

Sometimes I wish it were just me, though. I hated the orphanage and everyone in it, and I hated everything it stood for. From time to time, I wish that I would get caught stealing, just so maybe I would get kicked out. Although that probably wouldn't happen. Wammy was too kind for his own good. He would say that all I needed was a little help. (HINT: therapy.) It was not a road that I wished to go back down.

_'I wish I had never come to this orphanage. I wish I had never become an orphan.'_ When I was little, I liked to believe that wishes came true. I used to love fairy tales and stories of impossible things. I still do, although now I know they're all fake.

Wiping my sticky hands on my jeans, I slung my bag over my shoulders and started on the path to the orphanage.

_'I wonder how I would have turned out if I still had parents? If I had never been accepted into Wammy's, what would have happened to me? If I didn't have these eyes, would anything be different? If I never snuck into town, and never stole things, and never broke the rules, would anything change? If people didn't take one look at me and back away in disgust or fear, would it matter? If I decided to actually make something of my future, how would it turn out?'_ There were so many endless possibilities. So many "what if?"s. I was always wondering, always contemplating these. I couldn't help but to imagine different realities, in which something else happened. The one I thought of the most, thought, always made me the most curious. _'What would it be like if I had never been born? Would anyone's life change? If Third became Second, would it matter?'_ It made me wonder (as a lot of things do), if I were to suddenly die, would it really make an impact on someone? Probably not. Which just went to show how unproductive my life has been so far.

Ever since I became an orphan, I was always thinking of possible, different outcomes. Just the smallest of things I did, like moving down to Third place, could it maybe have a big effect on my life? For me, life was made up of these. No matter what, once I made a choice, I could never go back and change it. To me, that made making a risky move all the more fun. If I have just this life to live, shouldn't I live it like I want to? Not like how the laws say, or how everyone else says. If I wanted to steal and break laws, why shouldn't I? It was my life, and in the end, it wouldn't matter if I had done something bad or not. I would still be dead.

All those prissy little girls at Wammy's thought they would go to Heaven. Well, they were wrong. Everyone said I would be heading straight to Hell. Hmm, wrong again. I didn't believe in Heaven or Hell. I thought that when someone died, they just...died. Nothing else. Once their life was spent up, that was it. No second tries or remakes.

_'I better hurry and head back to Wammy's. This trip to town has put me in a bad mood.'_ Hearing the big clock that was in the center of town chiming, I commanded my feet to go a bit faster. When I got back, if he so much as crossed my path, Arrogant Boy would be very lucky if he still had that arm. I was definitely not willing to deal with anyone right now.

_'Let's hope the rest of the day passes quickly, or so help me, those kids will be left screaming.' _

...

A/N: Well, I hope you liked this chapter. I'm sorry Matt hasn't really shown up yet, although BB has caught a glimpse of him. I promise he's coming in soon, probably next chapter. So look forward to that, if nothing else. :) Please review and tell me how I did. I hate it when somone's out of character or something. Just tell me if they are or if there's something I need to work on. :D


	3. Goggles and Parfaits

Having deposited my sweet jam into my room where no one would find it, I went back into the hall, becoming suspicious.

_'Well, this is odd. For once, this horrid orphanage is quiet.'_ The halls were bare of any children and doors had been left open, like everyone had been in a hurry to go somewhere.

I scoffed to myself, rolling my scarlet eyes. _'Maybe pathetic little L came to visit.'_ Gritting my teeth, I decided to go to the lobby just to confirm my suspicions.

While I was walking, I thrown into an even worse mood. _'So, why is Lawli here this time? Does he need 'help' with another case, or does he just want to tease everyone like he always does? Ignoring us like we're all beneath him, just to tell us to 'work harder' if we want to make it up to First place. Taunting us like that, while in his mind he's laughing at us. Like we're nothing but disgusting trash that can only hope to compete with someone as **great **as him.'_

My fists dug into my shirt hard, and my eyes sharpened into a vicious glare. I noticed that I was almost to the lobby. That much closer to seeing L once again.

_'Who knows, maybe one day he'll just suddenly die. Maybe it'll be a quick and painless death like that, or it could be a slow and torturous death by the hands of someone who hates him. After all, he's already acquired so many enemies who're out to do him in. So many people who want to off him. One of them being me, naturally.'_

I smirked bitterly at the thought of killing that fool with my very own hands. Oh how sugary sweet that moment would be. It would almost taste as good as my jam. Almost.

_'One day I'll be sure to get you, Lawliet. It might not be as soon as I would like, but at least it's one of my fantasies that will come true. I'll make sure it happens, no matter what.' _

A gleam appeared in my ruby red orbs as I pushed open the door leading to the lobby. But what I found wasn't at all what I had been expecting. Instead of finding the person who I harbored an indescribable amount of hate for, I was mildly surprised to see a familiar head of red hair.

The same pair of bright green eyes that had greeted me before now lured me in again. _'The same one who robbed that store.'_

The same orange goggles I saw before still covered his field of vision. I soon found out where all the other children had gone, as I watched as they all crowded around him and started talking to him. Or trying to, at least. He wasn't really listening to them, as his fingers twitched ever so subtly. He looked so disinterested in everything around him, it made me wonder if he was day dreaming. I also couldn't help but to notice his strange outfit. A tan vest complete with fur, a black and white striped shirt, regular blue jeans, and black combat boots. A silver little ear ring glinted from its place in his right ear.

A grin threatened to tug at my lips. _'Well he looks like fun.'_

But I was cut from my examination of the red head as Roger made his way to me, a stern look on his face (had his face been frozen when he was younger?). _'Oh, boy. I wonder what he wants this time. I probably shouldn't tell him we have another little law breaker on our hands.' _A smug smile wormed itself onto my face.

Roger looked a little uneasy when he saw the smile, but didn't hesitate. "Beyond, nice to see you. We've been wondering where you had run off to this time." He looked as if he were far beyond caring about me and was instead disappointed that I hadn't disappeared for good.

My confident expression didn't fade, although I was curious to know if he actually knew where I had gone. Probably not, but it wouldn't hurt to check the video footage of Roger's office. (Yes, imagine that. Security cameras inside an orphanage. They weren't inside the students' rooms, on account of privacy, but they were in all the other rooms, excluding bathrooms. Creepy, huh?) In fact, it would be really fun to root through the old man's desk to see what I could find. Hopefully he had a new insect collection for me to smash.

He coughed, clearing his throat. Apparently he was more unnerved than he let on, if he wanted to get rid of me this quickly. "Anyway, Beyond. This it Matt, the newest student of Wammy's." He gestured to the goggled red head.

To say I wasn't expecting something like this would be a lie. Still, I never would have thought that some thief I passed on the street just earlier that day would ever enter Wammy's. Although I just do love surprises.

Locking eyes once again with the red head, now dubbed as Matt, I offered a smirk as he lazily waved.

Seeing this little exchange between the two of us, the kids all backed away. They probably didn't want to be involved in anything I was. Not that I was surprised at that; everyone in this place was a coward. They were all afraid of me, even the staff, which was pathetic.

Slowly striding up to me, the boy nodded his head at me. "What's up?" His voice sounded very bored. And I imagine he was, having to deal with all the idiots of Wammy's.

I shrugged my shoulders in reply to him. "Nothing much. I'm bored as hell, but that's nothing too new."

Matt chuckled a bit at that, apparently finding something funny. I quirked an eyebrow at him. "What's so funny?"

Smile still on his face, he only offered, "You remind me of someone, is all." He suddenly grabbed my hand and started dragging me out of the room. Everyone stepped aside as we passed through, acting shocked. Roger didn't even bother trying to ask Matt where he was going or why he was taking me with him. He probably didn't even care.

"Hey, where are you dragging me?" I asked, a little annoyed, partly amused.

He laughed lightly. Apparently he was having fun. "My room. Since you're so bored, you won't mind, right?"

I smirked. This kid was certainly proving to be far more entertaining than I could have hoped for. _'Who knows? Maybe the rest of the day won't be as horrible as I thought. Matt is turning out to be even more interesting. But I still have to wonder how such a carefree guy managed to total that shop.' _

Staring at the back of Matt's head, I jokingly thought, _'I wonder if he has a split personality. That would be funny.'_

Matt's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. "Well, we're here." Not waiting for me to respond, he pulled me through the door and shut it behind us.

His room, like mine, was barren. But that was to be expected, seeing as he just got here.

He gestured for me to sit on the bed. I went over and flopped down on my side, laying down. "Sorry there's nothing to do really but talk. Tomorrow they'll send over my stuff though, so then there'll actually be something to do in here." He sighed happily when he talked about tomorrow coming. He must have something he really likes being sent over.

"Oh? What do you mean by that?" I crossed my arms behind my head as I stared at him. Honestly, I didn't even know why I was in here with him, or why I was talking to him. It's just something that felt natural, like it would happen eventually anyway. Which kind of confused me, since I had never really openly talked with anyone like this for a long time. It was weird, but not a bad kind of weird. More like a strange kind of weird, one that you're begrudgingly okay with. _'Well, at least this serves to rid me of my boredom.'_

"My games are coming tomorrow." He looked very excited, like he couldn't wait to play them.

"What games do you have?" I was curious to know, since I had never really played any. Instead of games, I was out reading books and manga.

"Pokemon, Harvest Moon, Assassin's Creed, Call of Duty, Kingdom Hearts, Halo, Portal, Mario, Sonic, Just Dance, things like that." It looked as if he were imagining playing them while he was talking about them.

_'Hmm, a bit obsessed? I think so.' _Not like I was one to talk, what with my penchant for jam.

"You play Just Dance? Seriously?" I asked, actually shocked to hear it. He didn't peg me as the type that liked those kinds of games.

He laughed a little, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, I play it. Why? Is there anything wrong with a boy getting exercise from something other than football?" The red head grinned at me.

I smiled back. "No, in fact it's a welcome change." I put my palm up over my head, staring at it.

"Why do people always do that?" Matt asked curiously, looking at me.

I gazed back at him. "Do what?"

"Put their hand up and stare at it."

I put my hand down and thought, contemplating. I put an arm over my eyes. "I actually have no idea why."

Matt laughed, and layed down on the floor. Why he didn't just join me on the bed was beyond me. It was his bed after all. I really didn't understand why he preferred the floor. It wasn't like I was complaining, though, as Matt's bed was actually very soft. _'Why can't my bed be this soft? Oh, woe is me.'_

"So what's your favorite color?" I randomly decided to ask.

Matt hummed in thought, spreading his arms out. "Probably orange. It's hard to choose between that and blue."

I took my arm off my face as my eyes peered over at him once again. "Is that why your goggles are orange?" _'Come to think of it, why does he even have goggles?' _

"Yeah. They were a present from my best friend Mello." He replied, smiling like he was remembering something. Probably thinking of his friend.

I remembered him comparing me to someone. "Is that who I remind you of?"

"Yep. But now that I think about it, you two aren't really all that alike. Mello has a really bad temper, and he'll beat up anyone that pisses him off. He's easily annoyed, and he doesn't have many friends. But he's still really smart, even if he doesn't look or act like it. Really, though, underneath it all he's actually a big softie. He'd probably kill me if he ever found out I said that." Matt grinned at the thought.

_'I actually notice a lot of similarities between me and this guy, but we're really different too. I'm more of the scary or creepy type, while Mello's probably the PMS type.'_ I rolled over on the bed, now on my stomach.

We talked a lot that evening. We talked until it was curfew, actually, neither of us realizing we had skipped dinner.

We talked about Matt's friend, Mello, and all the funny stuff he had done, we talked about our interests (Matt gaming, and me jam and reading), our favorite foods (turns out Matt likes parfaits and peanut butter cookies), we talked about how boring school was, and how it should die, and everything else that came to our mind. I asked him what he had been doing when I saw him during town. He said he had hacked into their system to see when the game he wanted was coming out (couldn't he just ask?), but something had happened and they had caught him (apparently video game stores have high tech, ultra mega awesome security systems). In his attempt to make a break for it, he had accidentily pulled the fire alarm, which in turn caused some poor panicked guy to hit a machine. The machine, it seems, shorted out, and sparks started flying, catching stuff on fire. Although Matt swears it's true, I don't know if I really believe it.

All in all, the night went better than I had imagined it would. It had actually been pretty fun, hanging out with Matt. After telling him I had never really played a video game, he insisted I come back tomorrow to play some with him. He told me that it would be the end of me being 'deprived'. He acted as if it were unhealthy not to play games.

To my surprise, I was looking forward to going back. Matt was very unusual and different from anyone I had ever met. It was the first time since arriving at Wammy's I had found someone that I liked. It was the first time I had donned a real smile as I had been walking back to my room.

All of this was so new and different from what I'm used to. Matt was the first person that wasn't afraid of my eyes. Today was the first time I had seen someone else's room, and for some reason it made me excited. I could have spent the whole night thinking about it, but I didn't.

But, deep in the back of my mind, I was a bit afraid. What if I looked above Matt's head? What would I see? What sequence of numbers would be there? Long, or short? I usually tried to never look at someone's numbers, hating it when I did. But sometimes it just couldn't be helped. Sometimes I saw.

I was scared of looking above Matt's head and seeing what I always saw above everybody else.

_'If Matt doesn't get to live much longer...How would I react? Would I be disappointed? Sad? Angry? I wonder what he would say if I told him about my eyes.'_ He probably wouldn't care all that much. He didn't seem like the type to judge.

It was odd, thinking like this. Why do I even care about Matt's opinion? Why should I care when he lives or dies? The more I thought about it, the more confused I got, more and more questions popping up. I had just met him today, and already it was like we were friends.

Although it would be nice to have a friend, and I wasn't all that against it, especially if it were someone like Matt, in the back of my mind I still worried.

Was it normal, acting like this?

_'But my life has always been anything but normal. So I guess it doesn't matter if it's typical or not.' _

The only thing I heard as I was drifting off was the chirping of crickets. It's ironic, because I've always hated the sound crickets make, yet here I was falling asleep to it. _'Stupid crickets.'_

That night, my dreams were pleasantly vacant. Nothing disturbed me from my sleep.

...

A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope Matt's in character. If he isn't please tell me so I can fix him! Is BB still in character? I absolutely hate it when I write characters OOC. By the way, is this going too fast? Or is the pacing just right? Maybe a little slow? If you would, please tell me. And I hope you enjoyed! Look forward to next chapter. :D


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